Summer Death
by xX.Chu-Chan.Xx
Summary: A lottery, a haunted summer house? St. Rudolph and Seigaku spends a horrific summer together... Now what? A silent warning tune echoes throughout the house... BEWARE! A collab fic!
1. The beginning

**A/N:** SO this fic is veryy old... and not so good considering it's my first fic with my sis yukifangirl31295! We made and edited it together and I hope you'll enjoy it!

* * *

**Chapter 1**

"Uwaah! As expected of summer in Japan, it's so hot!" Momoshiro said as he and Ryoma came out of the convenience store.

"You talk as though you've gone to other countries already Momo-senpai." Ryoma said as he licked his ice cream.

"Oi Echizen! Don't tell me you think I haven't gone abroad yet! You're insulting me and that is so not right!" Momo said as he frowned at his first year companion.

"I _am _saying that you haven't gone abroad yet." Ryoma answered back sharply.

"Why you-!"

"Hey, it's Echizen." Both Seigaku regulars looked up at the sound of Ryoma's last name.

"Ah! Fuji-senpai's little brother! Yuuta!" Momo exclaimed, a vein popped in Yuuta's forehead.

"Oi! Who are you calling Fuji's little brother!" Yuuta said as he glared at Momo.

"Ah…" Ryoma said as he looked Yuuta up and down.

"What?" The younger Fuji raised an eyebrow.

"Fuji-senpai's brother." Another vein popped.

"Shut up already. I have a name. It's Yuu-ta!" He said to the two.

"Oh, what do we have here?" A malicious voice sounded. Ryoma and Momoshiro looked up.

"Mizuki-senpai!" Yuuta said as his senior from St. Rudolph approach them.

"Mizuki, what are you doing here?" Momo asked the manager of St. Rudolph's tennis team.

"We're here scouting for a place to do our summer tennis training." Mizuki said and when he saw Momo flush in embarrassment he added in a leer. "Oh? Don't tell me, Seigaku has no plans of getting stronger this summer? At this rate, St. Rudolph will catch up to you in no time."

"Oi, we didn't say-"

CLANG! CLANG!

"Come all and try your luck at our lottery!" A lady shouted to passer bys. "The first prize is a free stay at a summer house in Osaka beach!"

"We've actually come here to try and win that. We plan on having our tennis retreat at that beach and a free summer house sounds good." Yuuta explained to the two who nodded.

"Oya, so you're club's short on funds?" Momo said with a teasing smile. This time it was Mizuki's turn to flush.

"I-It's not! We're just saving that's all. It's useless throwing away money when we can have the summer house for free!" Mizuki said. "Anyway, I've already given the lady some money so we can try our luck… Let's go Yuuta."

"Oi! Wait! Seigaku will win that prize not you!" Momo said and Mizuki turned to glare at him.

"Challenging me, Momoshiro?" Mizuki said his eyebrow twitching.

"Let's settle this with tennis…" Momo said as he rolled up his sleeves.

"Ano…" Yuuta said as his eyes followed Ryoma who went up to the lottery stand.

"You roll this around right?" Ryoma asked the lady who nodded.

"If you get a gold ball you win first prize." The lady said.

"Wait Echizen-!" Yuuta called out.

"Let's go to the tennis courts!" Momo challenged.

"Ah, the prize isn't going anywhere any way." Mizuki stated as he twirled his hair. "But if we win, you promise to give us Echizen Ryoma."

"No way!" Momo argued.

Ryoma started to roll the contraption as he listened to the two fight behind him. After a few turns he stopped and…

"WE HAVE A WINNER!"

"Eh?" Momo and Mizuki turned while Yuuta sweat dropped. Ryoma smirked as he tugged his cap down.

"Mada mada dane."

* * *

"And so in the end…" Momo sighed as the Seigaku arrived in front of the summer house.

Ryoma gave a low whistle as he looked at how big the summer house was.

"Good job Echizen. Winning the lottery seems like something you would do." Fuji said in approval. "And as a bonus, you got Yuuta to come too!"

"Well, we couldn't settle who would take the prize." Yuuta sighed. "It was Mizuki-san's money but the one who made the winning roll was Echizen."

"It doesn't matter. Seigaku doesn't mind sharing." Tezuka said as he crossed his arms.

"Luckily we got enough tickets for everyone, neh Echizen?" Momo turned to Ryoma who merely yawned.

"But isn't it a coincidence?" Taka spoke up "That the amount of tickets were exactly the same as how many we were?"

Fuji gives them a creepy smile "But there's no such thing as a coincidence… unless…"

Taka gulped and backed away a bit.

"Fuji! Stop that!" Eiji suddenly popped out of nowhere and glomped Ryoma

"S-sempai…" Ryoma struggled a bit in Eiji's hold

"E-Eiji! You're suffocating him!" Oishi tries to break the two apart

"M-Maa, maa…" Momo nervously said, he then looked back at the summer house "So… this is where we'll be spending our summer huh?"

Suddenly, he caught a dark figure by one of the windows. _What the-_

"Momo-sempai… you're spacing out." Momo immediately turned to his kouhai "Oi Echizen, did the pamphlet say anything about maids living with us?"

Ryoma raised an eyebrow "Maids…?"

"Yeah… Cause look! Someone's over…" Momo trailed off when he noticed no one was by the window anymore "A-arre…?"

"What's this…? Are you trying to scare us? Momoshiro dane?" Yanagisawa approached the two

"What? I was only talking to Echizen!" Momo retorted

"Hmph." Yanagisawa shrugged "Just trying to let you know that we're the only ones who'll be living here. No maids, or butlers, dane."

Ryoma could only stare at the two before turning to the entrance of the door. He was surprise to see an old man standing by it. When did he get there?

"There's an old man." The prince bluntly stated

Everyone immediately went silent and all attention went to the old man that slowly approached them. Tezuka approached the old man first "You must be the manager of this house." The captain held out a hand.

"Yes… I am. Nice to meet you. And I suppose you're the people that will be living in this house for the summer?" The old man shook his hand, and Tezuka was surprised at the coldness of the other's hand.

"Yes, that's us nya!" Eiji said with his usual bright smile.

"Eiji!" Oishi scolded his doubles partner.

"Anyway, shall we all go inside?" The old man proposed and behind him, the door automatically opened. Everyone's eyes widened and some exchanged looks at the creepiness.

"Oh, it's automatic?" Mizuki said as he clapped his hands together." As expected of me, to win something as great as this summer house."

Everyone sweat dropped. But then suddenly there attention was called back by the old man who already went inside.

"Everyone, grab your suitcase and let's go." Tezuka ordered.

"Don't lose to Seigaku." Mizuki stated as everyone grabbed their bags.

Ryoma was the last one to enter the house as he picked up a fallen book. He stared at it and sighed.

_Flashback…_

"_Shounen, for winning the trip you also get this." The old lady in the lottery said as she gave a book to Ryoma._

"_This is?" Ryoma asked as he accepted it._

"_It's a book about old houses and their history. The summer house you're staying in is featured in it as well." The lady explained._

"_Oh. Thank you" Ryoma said as he pocketed it. Behind him, he could hear Momo and Mizuki arguing about who _really_ won the trip._

"_Be careful neh, shounen?"The old lady said as she waved off Ryoma and his companions."_

"_What a creepy old lady." Momo stated._

_End of Flashback_

"The old man is kind of creepy." Yuuta commented, effectively rousing Ryoma from his thoughts. He saw that he wasn't the only one left outside, Yuuta was with him.

"Let's get going, neh Echizen?" Yuuta said as he lifted his things.

"A-Ah…" Ryoma said as he followed the other into the house. However when he and Yuuta took a step inside…

_You can't get out anymore…_

Golden eyes widened as Ryoma felt a shiver run down his spine. The young tennis prodigy dropped his things as he looked around for the source of the voice.

"Oi Echizen? You coming or not?" Yuuta called out and Ryoma looked up to see that the other was already faraway.

To respond to the question, Ryoma merely tugged his cap down, picked up his suitcase and walked towards the other in silence. Sighing at the other's aloofness, Yuuta just shrugged and went ahead.

"I still can't believe will be spending our time in this old summer house." Atsushi stated as he looked up at the dark and musty ceiling. Yuuta and Ryoma had already caught up with the group.

"The summer house doesn't seem that old." Akazawa stated as he looked at the new curtains. "What I can't believe is that we'll be spending our summer with them." He said as he gave a pointed look to the Seigaku members.

Kaidoh and Momoshiro were fighting as always as Taka tried to referee them, Fuji was fooling around by making Tezuka smile and poking him, and Inui was forcing Eiji to drink his new and 'improved' Inui juice while Oishi convinced him this was not a good time.

"Nonsense, this is an opportunity for us to gather their data." Mizuki said with the usual malicious glint in his eyes.

"By us, you mean only you right?" Yuuta stated. Mizuki turned around to answer him but he was cut off when the old man began to speak.

"So, this is where your rooms will be at. Here are the keys and the blueprints of the house." He said extending the objects which mysteriously appeared in his arms.

"Neh, was he carrying those earlier?" Eiji whispered to Kaidoh who gave a nervous hiss.

"Inui." Tezuka said and Seigaku's manager stepped forward to take the objects from their caretaker.

"I'll be going then. Please stock the kitchen unless you want to die of hunger." He said in a queer voice before leaving. Everyone raised their eyebrows.

"What a weird old man." Momo said and Kaidoh nodded in agreement.

"Anyway…" Mizuki said, turning the attention back to him. "I have already made room arrangements."

_Hmph, be impressed by my readiness. _Mizuki thought smugly as he took out the paper for room arrangements.

_Mizikui's inner thoughts_

"_Wow! As expected of our manager!" Yuuta said proudly. The other St. Rudolph echoes his statement._

_The Seigaku began envying the St. Rudolph._

"_This is impressive Mizuki." Fuji's eyes opened seriously. "I want to play another match with you. I think I won't beat you this time though."_

"_Ahaha! I'm glad to see that you know that Fuji!" Mizuki stated._

_End of Inner thoughts_

"Wow, thanks this'll save us a lot of trouble." Momo said as he took the paper and everyone began to surround him.

"Good work Mifuni." Fuji stated before going to Momo.

Mizuki's face visibly cracked and he felt his teammates pat him in the back. Yanagisawa was snickering.

"Good job dane, Mifuni-kun." Yanagisawa said before turning to Seigaku. "Oi, who am I rooming with?"

"It's okay Mizuki-senpai." Yuuta comforted the other.

"Wha-? Mifuni? Who the heck calls someone Mifuni?" Mizuki began to complain.

"That Fuji is harsh." Atsushi commented.

And so, the room arrangement s went like this:

Tezuka and Nomura, Fuji and Mizuki, Ryoma and Yuuta, Oishi and Eiji, Yanagisawa and Atsushi, Kaidoh and Momo, Akazawa and Kaneda, and Inui and Kawamura.

* * *

At Atsushi and Yanagisawa's room…

"Hey, Yanagisawa do you think this house has a scary history?" Atsushi asked as they were unpacking.

"What do you mean, dane?" Yanagisawa said as he paused and looked at his roommate. He was a person who was easily scared.

Atsushi shrugged as he folded his clothes. "Some old houses I know often have a haunted past."

"Ah, r-really?" Yanagisawa gulped. "L-Like for example?"

"Well, remember when we visited my grandmother's house last week? She said her house was haunted by a little girl…" Atsushi narrated.

"L-Little girl?" Yanagisawa paled. "You m-mean that little girl w-who handed me the towel at your grandma's house wasn't-"

"What are you talking about Yanagisawa? There's no little girl at my grandma's house. She lives alone." Atsushi said.

Yanagisawa looked up at his roommate but then he paled even more when he saw a girl pass by the window outside.

"Oi, are you alright? You look pale." Atsushi asked.

"D-Dane-?" And Yanagisawa fainted.

"Oi!" Atsushi caught the other as he shook him. "Hey, what's wrong?"

But then Atsushi sighed in relief when he saw that Yanagisawa only fell asleep.

"He fell asleep, huh?" He sighed as he let go of Yanagisawa who fell to the floor. "Maybe he didn't sleep last night from over-excitement. I can totally see that."

Knock! Knock!

Atsushi got up and opened the door. It was Akazawa who greeted him.

"Lunch will be served soon." And then Akazawa saw Yanagisawa and he raised a curious brow. "What's wrong with Yanagisawa-san?"

"He fell asleep." Atsushi shrugged.

"Okay, wake him up and go to the dining room. You head straight and turn right. You'll see the double-oaked doors at the end of the hallway." Akazawa waved before leaving.

"Thanks."Atsushi said as he closed their door.

At Fuji and Mizuki's room…

"Hey Fuji…" Mizuki said as he turned to the prodigy once he finished unpacking. The older of the Fuji siblings ignored him as he continued to fold his clothes. Mizuki popped a vein. "FUJI!"

"Hm?" Fuji stated as he removed the earphone he was listening to. Mizuki sweat dropped.

Mizuki cleared his throat as he tried to regain his composure. "So what do you think about transferring to St. Rudolph-?"

"No." Fuji said and Mizuki popped a vein as he froze.

The St. Rudolph manager cleared his throat as he ran a hand through his hair coolly. "But your brother, Yuuta-"

"No." Fuji said but then he stopped what he was doing and looked at Mizuki in a puzzled expression. "By the way… Who are you again?"

Mizuki anime-fell and sweat dropped. _You're just like that Echizen-brat_. He thought as he got up and a vein appears in his forehead.

"Was it Mizuki-san?" Fuji stated and then there was instant revival from Mizuki who got up with a triumphant smirk.

"I knew you'd remember me! I'm pretty unforgettable after all-" Mizuki began.

"No. I saw your tennis bag and your name was written on it so…" Fuji pointed out. Mizuki's vein popped again and he clenched his fist to get himself under control.

"N-Never mind." He said and Fuji stood up.

"Saa… Let's go for lunch now. I'm sure Yuuta and the others are already on their way." Fuji said completely ignoring the other.

_Damn you, Fuji!_

Meanwhile…

Yuuta and Ryoma were walking down the halls in silence and the young Fuji looked at the other uncomfortably.

"Hey Echizen, why don't we play a match later-?" Yuuta asked trying to remove the silence.

"No." Ryoma answered as he read the book the old lady from the weird lottery store gave him.

Yuuta immediately noticed the book but decided to ignore it "What? Why?"

The young prodigy puts the book down and stared at him "Because you're weak. Maybe when you get stronger… I'll reconsider."

A nerve popped as the taller teen glared "W-what was that?" However, his anger was interrupted by the serious look that Ryoma was directing to him "W-what's up…?"

"When sunset comes…" Ryoma shuts his book and tucks it in under his arm while shoving his hands inside his pocket "It's dangerous."

"Huh?" Yuuta looked at the other that walked away

"Mada mada dane…" Ryoma spoke out

"O-oi Echizen!"

At lunch...

Oishi chased Eiji towards the dining room "Oi Eiji! Give me back my racquet!"

Eiji just laughed childishly and sped up "You'll have to catch me nya!"

"Eiji!"

And thus, started the havoc at lunch time…

Momo and Kaidoh were already sitting on their seats while fighting with each other.

"Stupid! You spilled your drink on me!" Kaidoh yelled at his teammate.

"You think I didn't notice?" Momo retorted as he crossed his arms.

"Are you trying to pick a fight?"

"Saa, both of you calm down… or Tezuka might give you laps." Fuji sat next to them as he looked at the table.

"Speaking of which, where is Tezuka?" Inui sat across the tensai

"He's preparing the food with Taka-san." Momo replied

"When did we have food?" Atsushi and a pale looking Yanagisawa approached them and sat next to Inui

Nomura then appeared and soon joined the group. He heard the question Atsushi asked and answered "Tezuka-san prepared some food before arriving here. Although he actually didn't know how much to prepare so he just packed a few food choices. After lunch, he said he'll go grocery shopping with Inui."

"Ah I see…" Momo then remembered the warning the old man gave them and shivered. He couldn't shake the feeling of doubt about the strange old geezer.

"Fsshh… what's wrong with you?" Kaidoh asked as he noticed how silent Yanagisawa was

Atsushi looked at Yanagisawa then at Kaidoh "He kept ranting about seeing a little girl. Though I'm sure it was just a dream."

"B-but… I really think it wasn't a dream dane! I saw the girl with my own eyes dane!"

"Maybe you're just hungry and seeing things." Momo assured.

"But I wasn't!"

"What's with all the noise?" They all turned to the duo that appeared by the doors.

"Yuuta." Fuji smiled at his younger sibling

"Echizen! About time you came here!" Momo exclaimed as he got up and walked towards the freshman.

Ryoma tugged his cap and sat next to Kaidoh while Yuuta sat next to Fuji. Yuuta then noticed Mizuki looking rather gloomy "Neh aniki, what's wrong with Mizuki-san?"

Fuji looked at Mizuki and shrugged "Saa, who knows?"

Yanagisawa snapped from his traumatized state and smirked as an idea came up "Maybe his girlfriend broke up with him." He whispered while Atsushi could only sigh

"W-what? He has a girlfriend?" Momo whispered back as he joined the gossip.

"Nani? Nani?" Eiji soon joined in by once again, glomping Ryoma from out of nowhere "What are you talking about, nya?"

"They said that the St. Rudolph's manager has a girlfriend…" Kaidoh replied to his senpai.

"Ehh? No way!" Eiji said in disbelief

"Maa, maa… it's not good talking about other people like that…" Oishi scolded. _Especially since that person is only a few seats away._ The mother hen turned to the still sulking Mizuki and sweat dropped.

"E-Eiji-senpai… let go…" Ryoma tried to squirm away from the other's hold

"Ah! Gomen ochibi~!" Eiji grinned before taking a seat next to him. He then saw the book on Ryoma's lap and grabbed it "What's this~?"

"Eiji-senpai!" Ryoma groaned and tried to steal back the item, but Eiji only held it higher "Grow taller and you might get it… ochibi nya!"

"What's with all the ruckus?" Akazawa and Kaneda then came in.

Eiji was immediately distracted by the appearance of the two, and with this, Ryoma managed to grab the book from the acrobat.

"Hey! Ochibi that was cheating, nya!" Eiji pouted

"Mada mada dane…" Ryoma pocketed the book and as if on cue, Tezuka and Taka soon came out with trays of food in their hands. Oishi and Kaidoh stood up to help.

"After eating we'll be cleaning the tennis courts by the backyard." Inui said while adjusting his glasses "There are over grown grasses and weeds to trim."

Everybody groaned at this.

"Now, everyone you know we came here to train in tennis." Mizuki said as he regained his usual narcissist self.

"Easy for you to say, senpai. You'll probably just be ordering us around." Yuuta said and the St. Rudolph team glared at him.

"Let's talk about that later, for now let's eat." Tezuka said as he sat down with Inui on his right side.

"LET'S EAT!" Everyone chorused except for Ryoma who just dug in.

As they were eating (more like food fighting in Momo and Kaidoh's part) the door to the dining room suddenly creaked open. The first one to notice it was Yanagisawa who dropped his spoon. The noise attracted everyone's attention and they turned to look at what caught the St. Rudolph student's attention.

"I heard your noise from the halls." The old man said as he stayed in the dark part. Everyone found it creepy that he wouldn't step forward into the light.

"You were wandering around in the halls?" Oishi said worriedly.

_Creepy. _Momo and Eiji thought to themselves.

"Sorry, were we loud?" Fuji asked kindly.

"Yes, and you shouldn't be noisy when it gets dark." The old man said mysteriously. "You don't want to disturb the _others _in this house, do you?"

Everyone felt a shiver run down their spine.

"O-Others?" Kaidoh repeated.

"This sounds bad, captain." Kaneda said to the captain of St. Rudolph, Akazawa.

"Calm down, he's just fooling with us." Akazawa said quietly.

"But we're the only ones in the house. What others could there be?" Nomura asked as he adjusted the glasses on his face obnoxiously.

"Could it be the maids I saw earlier?" Momo asked but the old man didn't answer and turned around to leave. "Oi wait!"

Momo ran up after the old man but his eyes widened when he reached the door. No one was by the hallways.

"Momo-senpai?" Ryoma called out to the other. Momo looked back his facial expression puzzled and frightened.

"H-He's gone…" Momo said as he went back to his seat.

"Huh? You could've chased him if you were that desperate…-"

"I couldn't because he's gone." Momo frowned. "He's not in the hallways. I couldn't find him."

Silence.

"Nya, Momo is just teasing us. He's just angry that he wasn't fast enough to catch the old man." Eiji said as he crossed his arms. Momo opened his mouth to protest but then-

"I don't think Momo-senpai was teasing." Ryoma said as he continued to read his book. "I think the old man really did vanish. He seemed the type to vanish at a blink of an eye."

"See! Echizen believes me!" Momo said in triumph as though having Ryoma by his side was a sure win.

"Well there's no point in discussing this any further. We'll see the old man again soon enough." Inui said as he adjusted his glasses. "Why don't Kaidoh and I clean up and everyone head over to the tennis court to start cleaning the tennis courts?"

Everyone stood up in defeat as they head off to the courts.

"The captains of each team will be responsible and assigning their teammates what to do." Tezuka said to everyone. "I saw a shed outside, I'm sure we can find some tools there."

"And what about the groceries for our food?" Mizuki asked.

"Fuji will be the one representing our team. And yours?" Texuka asked.

"I-" Mizuki was about to say.

"I'll go, senpai." Yuuta stated and Fuji smiled.

"Saa… let's go now Yuuta." Fuji said and he looked at Tezuka who handed him the Seigaku budget. Yuuta did the same to Mizuki who also gave the budget of St. Rudolph unwillingly.

The two left, leaving the others to decide on what to assign who.

"Neh, where's ochibi?" Eiji said noticing that their cocky prince was not there.

"Ah, that's right! Echizen!" Oishi said looking around for the little prince.

Meanwhile…

In the dining room reading a book all alone was Echizen Ryoma. His golden eyes were narrowed as his hands clenched around what he was reading. He had finally reached the part about the old summer house.

"This cannot be good." He muttered under his breath as his eyes stayed glued to an article about the house.

_Deaths in the Summer House at Osaka Beach._

**_End of Chapter_**

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Please REVIEW!

V


	2. Mysterious Summer House

**A/N:** So me and Yuki made this... so yeah... please do read and review!

* * *

_**Chapter 2**_

"Unya! This is gonna be a long day!" Eiji exclaimed as he saw the tennis courts.

Everyone couldn't help but silently agree. Despite the fact that there were only two tennis courts, there was obviously a lot of cleaning to do. Huge and moldy rocks were found scattered around the courts. The grasses totally needed some trim. The nets looked like it needed a nice wash. The poles supporting the nets were covered in mud and surrounded by vines. And lastly, the white lines of the courts were already fading.

Everyone gaped at the mess. Except for Tezuka, who just sighed.

"Well, standing here won't do us any good." Tezuka turned to his teammates "Let's head to the shed and see what we could use to clean."

"Hai!"

Mizuki turned around and twirls his hair with a smirk "I shall be assigning you to your respective roles after we check the available items in the shed."

"Hai!"

* * *

Ryoma's eyes never left the article that is until Kaidoh and Inui arrived. He immediately shut his book and tucked it in his pocket.

"Fssh. What are you still doing here?" Kaidoh asked

"You're assigned to help Tezuka and the others." Inui said as he pushed his glasses up "Unless you want to help us clean?"

Ryoma just stood up and walked away towards the exit "I just forgot something."

Inui and Kaidoh exchanged looks before shrugging.

oOoOo

The young prodigy walked slowly down the stairs while in a deep thought. He couldn't seem to think of what to do on the current situation they are in. As well as the impending danger his seniors doesn't know.

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

Ryoma halted his steps and looked behind him. _What…?_

_Thump. Thump._

Ryoma tried to follow the source of the noise. It couldn't be one of his seniors making it. Some of them were outside and the noise wasn't coming from the dining hall either. So… who…?

_Thump. Thump. THUD!_

He was surprise at the sudden sound and almost stumbled back. His hand unconsciously went to the pocket where the book was and clutched it.

Everything went quiet…

Too quiet…

"Shounen…"Ryoma's eyes widen as he hastily turned around. He was surprised to see the old man, standing behind him with a creepy smile. A droplet of sweat rolled down his face as he gave the old man a small glare. It was weird, he didn't even hear him arrive nor did he sense his presence as he approached him.

The old man raised an eyebrow "Oh dear. What's with that look? You seemed like you've seen a ghost." He chuckled dryly. Ryoma made no reply. "Anyway, it's not good roaming around alone. You might get lost."

"I'll be fine."

The smile on the wrinkled face just widened "If you say so…" slowly he turned around and walk away "But do be careful… you might not know who'll be coming after you." As the old man said this he had already turned to another flight of stairs. Ryoma immediately walked towards the wooden handles of the stairs to check the lower part of it and see if the old man was there… but…

"Gone…" he muttered while looking at the empty stairs. He tried to shrug off the chill he was feeling and continued his way to the tennis courts.

* * *

After checking the available tools in the shed Tezuka ordered Oishi to call Fuji and ask him to buy some white paint for the court. Everyone carried the tools towards the courts.

"Since there are two courts your team shall clean the other one, while we'll clean our own." Tezuka told Mizuki who agreed "Of course." He replied.

Meanwhile, Momo and Eiji we're currently removing the rocks in their court.

"Gahh! It's so dirty nya!" Eiji complained as he throws another rock towards the forest, which was found creepily next to the courts. Apparently there was a forest behind the huge summer house.

Momo watched as Eiji did this and nervously said "N-Neh, Eiji-sempai, maybe it's not a good idea throwing those there."

"Hm? Why nya?" the acrobat turned to him questioningly

"Well… w-what if you hit an animal?" Momo asked. _Or someone who's not like us?_

"Eh? But I don't see any animals though!" Eiji said while peeking through the forests. He narrowed his eyes to see a little clearer in the dark property… then, suddenly… he saw a dark figure pass a little too quickly. His eyes widen as he felt a shiver run down his spine. However, he had no idea why though. He turned to Momo with a nervous smile "I-I think I just saw o-one… b-but it looked kinda' tall…"

The power house player could only look at his senior with a raised eye brow "Ha?"

"Mada mada dane…" The two turned to the prince who had arrived.

"Echizen! Where were you?" Momo throws the rock he was holding and dusted his hands.

Eiji went to Ryoma "You're so unfair ochibi! Slacking off while your seniors work hard!"

Ryoma merely ignored this and looked around "Where are the others?"

"They're off getting the cleaning stuff." Momo replied "Meanwhile, why don't you help us throw away these rocks?"

"Momo! You can't ask ochibi to do that!" Eiji suddenly scolded

"Why?" Momo turned to him questioningly

A playful grin suddenly appeared on the acrobat's face "Because ochibi can't carry heavy things! He's too skinny and small!"

Ryoma glared at the two as they started laughing. Their fun was then disrupted as Oishi and Taka entered whilst carrying some broomsticks and shears.

"Ah Echizen! There you are!" Oishi exclaimed "Where have you been?"

"I forgot something…" Ryoma lied.

"You should start helping then." Taka requested as he handed him a broomstick "You don't want Tezuka punishing you now do you?"

Ryoma tugs his cap before accepting the broom.

"Just sweep away the leaves then after that, you can help cleaning with the nets or poles." Oishi instructed.

"Ah…" The freshman walked off while dragging the broom behind him.

Later on, the St. Rudolph arrived to clean their own court as well as the Seigaku's captain. Tezuka spotted their youngest member and approached him to ask where he had been. Ryoma used the same excuse and fortunately for him, Tezuka let him slide for now.

"Eiji, can you go get some water?" Oishi handed his doubles partner a bucket.

Eiji saluted "Okay!"

Oishi could only smile at his childishness before kneeling down to continue cutting the grass.

Meanwhile at St. Rudolph's group.

"Shinya!" Mizuki called out and Yanagisawa approached him.

"What is it dane?"

The manager hands him a bucket "Go get some water. We need it to clean the poles."

"Why me dane?"

"Just do it!"

"H-Hai!"

The other members watched the exchange with a sigh. _He's enjoying this._ They all thought in chorus as they saw Mizuki smirk and flip his hair.

"Kikumaru-san! Wait for me!" Yanagisawa called out to the acrobat who slowed his pace.

Ryoma watched the two leave, and was about to go back on sweeping the leaves away when he heard some rustling behind him. He turned to the forest, which was where the sound came from, just in time to see a blur past by quickly.

His golden eyes widen, and he didn't realize he had let go of his broom.

"Oi Echizen."

He let out a silent gasp and immediately turned to Momo who was looking at him curiously and worriedly.

"What's up? You've been acting strange." He pointed out and picked up the broom

Oishi soon joined in as he saw how pale the young prince looked "You look pale. Are you okay?"

Ryom tugs his cup down "I'm fine. It's nothing."

"What's wrong?" Tezuka then approached the trio.

"Nothing." Ryoma repeated before grabbing the broom from Momo and left.

Tezuka turned to Oishi who shrugged and shook his head.

* * *

"Ah there's a faucet!" Eiji exclaimed as he pointed at the faucet found beside the house "Come on!" he ran towards the faucet followed by Yanagisawa.

He sets his pail down and grabbed the tap and tried twisting it "Ngh! It won't budge!"

Yanagisawa scoffed "How weak of you dane! Here! Let me do it!"

Unfortunately, it didn't budge either and just made a small creaking sound.

"Nyahaha!" Eiji laughed making Yanagisawa go all red

"I-it's just stuck! Come on! Let's do it together." Yanagisawa exclaimed as he held the tap once more followed by Eiji who tried to calm himself from laughing. The two twisted it as hard as they could.

_Creak!_

Slowly it turned and with one more twist, they were able to make the water flow down.

"Alright!" Eiji and Yanagisawa exclaimed and did a high-five. But then… as their hands made contact, they felt something sticky and warm between their palms.

Hesitantly they separated them and checked what made it all sticky and…

Eiji and Yanagisawa's eyes widen…

oOoOo

"What's taking Eiji?" Oishi wondered as he noticed his doubles partner's long absence

"Shinya's taking his time." Mizuki frowned and crossed his arms

_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!_

The others jumped at the sudden screams and immediately stopped what they were doing.

"W-what was that?" Momo exclaimed.

"E-Eiji!" Oishi ran off followed by Tezuka.

"Shinya!" Atsushi and Mizuki soon left.

"Echizen! Let's go!" Momo said to Ryoma who nodded and followed him out with Taka and the other St. Rudolph who also ditched their work to see what happened.

…

"Eiji-!" Oishi was interrupted when the acrobat tackled him to the ground "O-Oi!"

"Oishi nya! Look! L-LOOK!" Eiji suddenly shoved his hand in front of Oishi "It's BLOOD!"

Tezuka and the others soon arrived. Mizuki was shock to see their member on the ground unconscious "Shinya!" They approached him to check what was wrong.

"E-Eiji calm down…" Oishi said pushing the hand away.

"How can I calm down when my hand is covered with-!"

"Rust." Tezuka spoke up.

"E-eh?" The captain tilted his head to the hand, obviously telling him to check it once more.

The acrobat followed and checked his hand, the substance was a bit yellowish and slightly red, somewhat like blood, "B-but… it really was blood awhile ago…"

"Eiji-sempai, you must've been imagining things…" Momo sighed

"You really got us nervous there… we thought something happened to you." Taka said holding out a hand to help him up.

"How is he?" Tezuka approached the St. Rudolph's captain.

"He just fainted." Akazawa replied "He must've thought the rust was blood too. Typical of him."

Ryoma remained silent as he watched Oishi lightly scold Eiji and the St. Rudolph regulars try to wake Yanagisawa up. His eyes narrowed to the faucet that had water flowing out of it non-stop.

_Psst…_

*He unconsciously turned to the side. _Who…?_

"Echizen, what's up?" Momo asked his kouhai as he saw him spacing out.

Ryoma was about to reply when he noticed the orange sky _The sun's setting…_

Momo raised an eyebrow "Echi-"

_CRASH!_

Everyone was immediately startled by the sudden sound "What was that?" Atsushi asked as he turned to the house.

"Taku, Inui and Kaidoh must've broken something." Eiji said, trying to distract Oishi from scolding him.

_But that didn't sound like it came from the kitchen._ Oishi thought as he remembered that the kitchen was at the other side from where they were. And judging by how they heard it, it kinda' sounded near. The vice-captain looked up at the window above _It sounded like it came from there…_ His eyes widen as he saw the curtain of the closed window move.

Silence.

"It's getting dark." Ryoma suddenly stated, everyone was once again startled from their trance. The other's must've noticed what Oishi noticed too.

"Alright everyone, that'll be it for now." Tezuka turned to Taka "Kawamura and I will take care of the tools that were left."

"We'll help too." Akazawa and Kaneda volunteered.

Tezuka gave them a grateful nod "We'll continue tomorrow."

"Hai!"

And with that they all went back in the house, with Atsushi and Nomura carrying Yanagisawa in each side.

"What an unexpected turn of events." Mizuki sighed as he puts a hand in and took out his phone. _What's taking Yuuta anyway? _He wondered before texting the other's number.

"Neh Echizen…" Momo whispered to Ryoma.

"Hn?"

"Are you afraid of the dark?"

Ryoma gave the other a glare.

"A-Ah… well, you just suddenly announced it was getting dark and all… What's up with that?" Momo said defensively.

"Is there something wrong with pointing out something obvious?" Ryoma raises an eyebrow and puts both his hands in his pockets.

"W-well, I- err…"

"Mada mada dane… Momo-senpai." The younger teen yawned.

"O-oi!" Momo sweat-dropped and watched as Ryoma went ahead. _Seriously… that kid…_

* * *

At the dining room…

"I feel tired." Mizuki said as he put down his cell phone and brushed away a stray bang from his eyes. "I think I'll go take a bath in one of the bathrooms."

"Nya! I want to go too." Eiji said as he jumped up.

"Good thing the bathroom is as big as the one we had in the mountain villa we trained at." Oishi said as he also got up.

"I'm too tired to move…" Atsushi sighed. "I think I'll go bathe later."

"Hey, where's Yanagisawa?" Momo asked as he looked around.

"He's in our room with Nomura." Atsushi looked at the clock. "I'm sure he has regained consciousness by now."

"Let's worry about that later and take a bath now!" Eiji pouted, completely forgetting the incident about the faucet and the rust.

"Okay! Let's go take a bath Echizen!" Momo said as he pounded the small freshman on the back.

Ryoma almost fell forward at the impact and he gave a small glare at his senpai. "No thanks senpai. You and the others go ahead. There's something I want to ask Inui-senpai and Kaidoh-senpai."

Oishi gazed worriedly at their younger prodigy. "Are you sure Echizen? I don't like the idea of you wandering about the house later to take a bath by yourself."

"I can join buchou and the others later." Ryoma commented quietly. This eased the mother hen's mind and he nodded in approval.

"Okay. Help Inui and Kaidoh set the table before Yuuta and Fuji arrived." Oishi said before he and the others turned to leave.

Ryoma's golden eyes followed the leaving back of his seniors and when they were sure he was gone, he turned to the kitchen and walked inside.

"Oh, Echizen you're back." Inui said as he lifted a big pot into the stove.

"Senpai, there's something I want to ask." Ryoma said as his eyes narrowed suspiciously. There was a stained window behind Inui and his eyes were somehow drawn to that.

"Sure, what's up?" Inui said and Kaidoh came in the kitchen carrying jugs of purified water.

"Earlier, senpai-tachi heard a loud noise outside." Ryoma said as he unwillingly tore his gaze from the window. "Did you and Kaidoh-senpai drop anything?"

Kaidoh and Inui looked at each other. Kaidoh shook his head and Inui turned back to Ryoma. "No. We didn't drop or break anything nor did we hear any loud noise."

Ryoma's eyes widened slightly before he shadowed it beneath his cap. He was expecting this answer. He looked up at his seniors who were looking at him suspiciously. "Thank you sen-"

The young prodigy froze.

"Echizen?" Inui said as he raised an eyebrow.

Golden eyes were wide as the freshman stepped back. Kaidoh stepped forward and placed a hand on the teen's shoulder.

"Oi Echizen!" Kaidoh said in a loud a voice. The prince of tennis blinked before he shook his head and tipped his cap down.

"I-It's nothing… Thanks again." Ryoma said in a hurry before turning to leave. Inui and Kaidoh stared at Ryoma's back trying to comprehend his strange action.

"Where are you going Echizen?" Inui called out and he heard the freshman say 'bathroom' in a small voice.

Silence.

Neither noticed that behind them on the stained window, a hand vanished after writing a bloody message on the glass.

_I don't want to die…_

* * *

"We're back." Fuji greeted his fellow teammates as he and Yuuta walked into the dining room.

"Fuji, welcome back." Oishi greeted the Seigaku tensai as he and Yuuta put down the heavy grocery on the table.

"What are we having Fujiko?" Eiji said as he placed an arm around his best friend.

Fuji chuckled at his friend's hyperactive attitude. "We're having curry tonight. I'm sure Inui and Kaidoh already prepared the pot?"

"Just as you texted." Inui replied as he came out of the kitchen, wearing an apron. Mizuki, Yuuta, and Atsushi snickered at its pink and heart design. "Mizuki and Atsushi can you carry the groceries into the kitchen."

The two froze. "H-Hai." They had trouble keeping their laughter in as they walked towards the table to lift the groceries but then they're laughter choked in their throats when they realized how heavy the burden was.

"Oh Fuji, you're back." Tezuka said as he and Taka came inside along with Akazawa and Kaneda. The four of them looked dirty probably from getting the dirty tools back into the dusty tool shed.

"Ah, we're back Tezuka." Fuji smiled, Yuuta nodded in respect at the Seigaku captain.

"What took you so long Fuji?" Taka asked as he wiped his sweat with a small towel. "Did something keep you? Was the nearest store out of ingredients and you had to go to a farther one?"

Yuuta and Fuji frowned as they remembered the events that happened in their trip. "No. Actually…" Yuuta began explaining. "It was because no vehicles passed by in the road near here."

Eiji and Oishi looked stunned while Tezuka's expression became calculating.

"Why?" Oishi asked.

"At first, aniki and I thought it was because the summer house was in a strict private property zone…" Yuuta said "But when we finally got to the nearest convenient store…"

_Flashback…_

"_Neh, you kids… I've never seen you before. Are you staying at a nearby hotel or something?" The lady behind the counter asked as she scanned the items they bought._

_Fuji smiled politely. "No, actually we're staying at a summer house near here."_

"_A summer house?" The lady's eyes widened and they could almost hear her think: 'It can't be.'_

"_Yes, the one down by the Osaka beach." Fuji continued as he nodded._

_The lady's eyes widened even more as she dropped the ingredient she was holding. "What? You're staying at _that_ summer house?"_

"_Why? Is there something wrong with it?" This time it was Yuuta's turn to ask._

_The lady exchanged looks with her fellow cashier and her companion shook her head. The old lady sighed. "Just be careful okay? No car passes by there so it's dangerous when you get into… uhm- some trouble."_

"_Trouble?" Fuji's eyebrow rose._

_The lady gulped as she nodded. "I don't know what you kids are doing up there… Maybe you're some sort of psychic group investigating but I warn you… It's dangerous there. It's better to give up and leave."_

"_Psychic group?" Yuuta repeated curiously._

_End of flashback_

"So we went to ask some more about the summer house here but no one would tell us anything." Fuji's face was serious, his eyes open and calculating. "The people we ask would either turn pale and run away or else avoid us completely."

"Even the taxi drivers…" Yuuta sighed.

_Flashback…_

"_Where you headed at?" A jolly driver asked with a smile._

"_To the summer house down by the Osaka beach." Yuuta said as he and Fuji were about to get in but then the vehicle lurched forward almost throwing the younger Fuji off._

_The older sibling's eyes flashed at the driver for nearly hurting his younger brother but then-_

"_That summer house? No way! I'm not going there." The jolly driver shouted in fear before he drove off leaving the two alone._

"_Aniki…" Yuuta said as his eyes followed the leaving taxi. "What just happened?"_

_Fuji frowned as he shook his head. "I don't know Yuuta."_

_End of Flashback_

"In the end we had to walk back here." Fuji said as he stretched his sore arms. Yuuta slumped by the nearest chair and sighed.

"At least we have enough food to last us for at least a week." Yuuta sighed. He looked at the Seigaku members in the dining room and the two St. Rudolph in the dining room and his eyebrow rose. "Hey, where's Yanigasawa and Nomura?"

Momo sighed as he scratched his head. "Yanagisawa fainted earlier and Nomura's with him right now."

"Fainted, why?" Fuji asked. Eiji began to laugh uncertainly.

"Nya, well we tried to open the faucet earlier and we got some rust in our hands." Eiji started awkwardly. Yuuta and Fuji exchanged looks not knowing how this would cause Yanagisawa to faint. Eiji laughed. "We thought it was blood, nya."

"Oh." Yuuta said and then his eyebrow rose. "Seriously?"

"I also find it hard to believe that Eiji-senpai aka 'Seigaku's best eyes' thought that the rust was blood." Momo snickered. Eiji gave him a glare complete with a pout.

"Let it go Momo." Oishi sighed before the two would start fighting. Whining, in Eiji's case.

Mizuki and Atsushi came back from the kitchen and sat down on some seats as well. "By the way Seigaku, are you sure it's wise to have your data man do the cooking?"

Automatically, every Seigaku member's eyes widened and they turned pale when they realized: _Inui was making dinner!_

"I saw him mixing some weird ingredients saying something about a new drink…?" Atsushi stated.

"And Kaidoh?" Momo asked hurriedly.

"He didn't look too well. Your data man said he just fell asleep." Mizuki said with a shrug.

"I-I think I'll go check on Inui." Taka said with a sweat drop before hurriedly going to the kitchen.

"Tezuka, should we go wash off?" Akazawa asked the Seigaku captain.

Tezuka looked at his already clean members and then at those who were still dirty nodded. "That would be a good idea."

"Saa… we'll join you too." Fuji said referring to his brother and himself.

"What about Inui-san, Kaidoh-san, and Kawamura-san?" Kaneda asked.

"They can all go to the baths together after they're done cooking." Tezuka said as he crossed his arms.

"Ah wait- speaking of baths, Echizen also-" Oishi began but then he suddenly noticed that the freshman prodigy was not there. "Arre where's Echizen?"

"Nya, didn't he say he wanted to ask Kaidoh and Inui something earlier?" Eiji said with a tilt of his head. "Maybe they know where he is?"

"If you're looking for Echizen, he left in quite a hurry earlier." Kaidoh said as he came out of the kitchen looking faintly green. "Said something about a bathroom…?"

"Hm, but we just came back from the bathroom and we didn't bump into him or anything…" Atsushi commented.

"Well, there are two other bathrooms in the house, maybe he went there." Mizuki said nonchalantly.

"Ah, but the real question is, does he know where they are?" Fuji asked.

There was silence.

Momo whistled lowly. "Echizen sure is brave, wandering around the house without knowing where the bathrooms are." Everyone sweat dropped.

"It's fine, I'll go find him if you're that worried." Inui stated as he went out of the kitchen and took off his apron. "Kawamura took the kitchen duty from me. Too bad I was planning on making you some special juice."

Everyone shivered and the Seigaku silently thanked Taka for saving their lives. Inui took the blueprints of the house from his pocket and sighed.

"Well, what do you think Tezuka?" Inui asked.

"That's a good idea. While you're at it, go and inform Nomura that dinner is about to be served. If Yanagisawa is still out, then tell him to get him some food." Tezuka stated.

"Okay." Inui nodded before turning to the door to leave… But then…

There were collective gasps as the electricity in the house suddenly failed.

"This is bad, nya! Ochibi is wandering around the house in a black out!" Eiji managed to say over the murmurs.

"Something must've happened to the fuse. Fuji go and check it out with Momo." Tezuka said in a commanding voice. "Inui, bring a flash light with you while you go look for Echizen. The rest, find some candles and get your flashlights from your room."

"Hai!" Everyone said before scrambling.

Inui adjusted his glasses before looking at the blueprints.

"Echizen, where are you?"

_**End of**_** Chapter...**

* * *

***-In our country's belief when supernatural beings like ghosts or probably earthland beings says _"Psst."_ to get your attention and you twist your head in reaction... something bad will happen to you.**

So that adds up the mystery neh? Wonder what will happen... stay tuned...


	3. A fourth bathroom

**A/N:** Tadaa! A quick update! Haha! We hope it's okay and worth your time!

Please enjoy~!

* * *

_**Chapter 3**_

It was strange. One moment, the hallway was lit and easy to see and suddenly without warning everything went black.

Echizen Ryoma frowned as he felt the walls while walking. He wasn't expecting the sudden black out so he had no flashlight on him

"This is so troublesome." The young tensai murmured as he continued to feel the wall while walking. He shivered a bit as the air became cold.

Golden eyes narrowed as the temperature around him continued to drop. He could see the windows reflecting the moonlight and they were undoubtedly closed. Also, they were fogging up a bit from the sudden temperature drop.

_They're coming. _Ryoma thought and he leaned against the wall cautiously, not wanting anything to suddenly surprise him. His eyes darted from side to side making sure that he was alone. But then, the atmosphere just kept getting heavier and the temperature kept getting colder and still… no one was in sight.

"What's happening here?" Ryoma breathed out and to his shock smoke came out. He began to shiver and he slid down to floor trying to get warm. The tennis prince shut his eyes trying to concentrate and not let himself be pulled into the fear he felt in his stomach. But then-

_Creak… creak…_

That was definitely the sound of the floor squeaking due to a sudden weight.

_Step… step… step…_

Footsteps! Ryoma looked up. Someone was coming. The question is… was it human?

Ryoma's eyes narrowed as he saw a dark silhouette of someone walking towards him. His hand was also on the wall trying to feel his way through the hallways.

Swallowing the fear he felt and the shivers that were making its way down his spine, Ryoma glared at the oncoming person. "Who's there?"

The figure stopped and looked up just when it was near enough to grab Ryoma.

"Dane?"

"Dane?" Ryoma repeated and the figure stepped forward onto the light the moon gave off from the window. The golden eyes widened. "You're-!"

* * *

"Tezuka, we've brought back some flashlights." Akazawa said as he and some St. Rudolph came in while shining their flashlights in the still dark dining room.

"Good job." Tezuka said and at that moment, Oishi came out of the kitchen carrying a lighted candelabrum.

"We found some candles in the closet." Oishi said as he placed the candelabrum on the table. Eiji came out balancing a few candles (with stands) in his arms and hands.

"Eiji-senpai be careful." Kaidoh said as he came out carrying one candle as well.

"Oi Eiji." Oishi frowned in disapproval at his partner who expertly placed the candles on the table and just laughed at Oishi's worried expression.

"Its fine you two!" Eiji said with a smile.

"How's Taka-san doing in the kitchen?" Tezuka asked his glasses shining due to the sudden light of the candles.

"He's doing fine with the curry nya. He said he'll be finished soon and then we can eat." Eiji said as he patted his stomach.

"That's a relief. I was getting hungry." Atsushi said as he sat down on one of the chairs. As the other St. Rudolph were about to sit down, someone suddenly came bursting into the dining room.

"Guys, have you seen Yanagisawa?" Nomura came running and everyone's attention turned to him.

"Nomura?" Yuuta said and Mizuki looked at Nomura seriously.

"What? Is Shinya missing too?" Mizuki asked and Nomura flushed at the look Mizuki was giving him.

"I just went out to go to the bathroom." Nomura said in a bashful tone. "When I came back he was gone so I thought he might've come here."

"First Echizen, now Yanagisawa…" Kaneda said quietly.

"Fsshhh… Did you see Inui-senpai on your way here?" Kaidoh asked and Nomura blinked.

"That guy with glasses and spiky hair?" He asked and Kaidoh nodded. "No, I didn't see anyone."

"That's strange, Inui was headed in your room's direction." Oishi said thoughtfully. "Tezuka, should we send out search parties for Echizen, Yanagisawa, and Inui?"

"Inui's fine, he has the map. But I'm worried about Echizen and Yanagisawa." Tezuka said in a formal tone.

"S-Senpai, I don't think we should move around when it's so dark." Kaidoh cleared his throat.

"I agree with Kaidoh nya! We should wait until Fujiko and Momo fix the fuse or something!" Eiji said with a raised hand.

Tezuka sighed. "Very well. But everyone should be on their guard."

_Against what? _St. Rudolph thought. However the Seigaku regulars were already used to it and they just nodded.

Tezuka looked out of the window and frowned. _Fuji, Momoshiro hurry. I have a bad feeling._

* * *

"Hm…" Inui said as he pointed his flashlight once more to the map. "Echizen wasn't in any of the bathroom so where could he be?" The data man thought as he looked up and looked around. He pointed his flashlight at random places and then he suddenly stopped it at a portrait.

"Ah!" Inui gasped in surprise at his sudden discovery. He dropped his flashlight which flickered at the sudden impact before turning off. Inui adjusted his glasses and leaned forward to the portrait. The data man sighed as he kneeled down to pick up his flashlight and the blueprints of the house. "It's just an ordinary portrait. That surprised me, I thought its eyes moved."

Inui picked up his flashlight and observed it. He tried to switch it on and off but it wouldn't respond. "Hm, I guess I have no choice but to use my extra flashlight." He pocketed his broken one and took out a smaller keychain version of a flashlight.

"This will do." He said out loud before he started walking again. He looked sideways and opened doors to random rooms looking for the freshman. "Echizen!" Inui called as he closed the door of the room he opened. The Seigaku regular looked at his blueprints and took out his pencil to cross out the place he just checked. "So he's not here too."

The Inui juice inventor stopped and looked forward curiously when his flashlight spotted double-oaked doors. Inui's eyebrow rose and he looked down at the blue print. "This is strange, this door isn't on the blueprint. It's supposed to be a dead-end."Inui stepped forward and lightly touched the door. He adjusted his glasses when he retracted the hand. He took out his data notebook and made notes. "Ii, data…"

After writing down his new discovery and the possible percentage that the architect made an error, Inui stepped forward to investigate.

Lightly pushing the doors open, Seigaku's data man found himself in another bathroom.

_Maybe Echizen's here? _Inui thought and then he suddenly thought. _Wait, there's a fourth bathroom in this summer house? I thought there were only three…_

"Hm…" Inui stepped forward and looked around as he shined his small flashlight at random parts of the bathroom. He could see cobwebs and some cockroaches running away from the sudden light. "It looks like it hasn't been used for awhile. I doubt Echizen is here."

Concluding this, Inui decided to leave but then just as he turned to the door.

_BAM!_

Inui's eyes widened when the door before suddenly closed with full force. The data man stepped back at the sudden noise and he fought to remain his grip on his flashlight. He couldn't have it broken again, he didn't want to be left in this bathroom with no light.

"Was that the wind?" Inui thought out loud trying to calm himself. But then he stopped speaking when he felt the temperature in the bathroom get lower.

"This is illogical." Inui's voice was getting louder from sheer nervousness and fear. "There can't be an air conditioner in the bathroom and the power just went out."

But the temperature continued to drop and Inui could feel the hair at the back of his neck standing up.

_Calm down, think logically. _Inui urged himself as he adjusted his glasses and swallowed thickly. _This is no time to lose my head. All I have to do is get out of here. I have to open the doors the wind closed. I'm sure it wouldn't be hard._

With determined steps, Inui started to walk towards the door. He pocketed the blueprints and then with one hand pointing the flashlight on the door and the other placed on the surface, Inui began to push.

_Push! _Inui thought as he exerted all his efforts.

But it was no use.

Even though Inui had trained his muscles to carry more than 1 kilogram thanks to his tennis weights, he still couldn't open the door.

"I'll shout for help." Inui said just to disturb the creepy silence in the bathroom. "I'm sure someone will hear me."

With that new plan in his mind, Inui began to bang on the door and ask for help. "Anyone out there! I'm stuck in this bathroom! Tezuka! Fuji! Echizen if you're wandering around here I could use some help!"

But no matter how loud Inui shouted, no one came running for him.

"This is getting tiring." Inui sighed as he ran out of breath. _What do I do now?_

And just like that, he collapsed into silence.

The data man slid to the floor and took off his glasses trying to distract himself from the darkness and eerie and cold atmosphere of the bathroom. When he did that, that's when he suddenly saw something on the floor in front of him.

"That's-?" Inui stood up as he put on his glasses and walked over to pick it up but then it slipped out of his hand and suddenly went under the bathtub not far away.

Inui frowned and followed it. He bent down and shone the light below the tub. "I'm sure it's here somewhere." When he saw something white he adjusted his glasses and put his hand under the bathtub. "Here it is-"

_Clang!_

Inui's eyeglasses fell from the bridge of his nose as the data man froze in where he was. His eyes were wide as he felt goose bumps rise on his arm.

"W-Wha-?" Inui was barely able to say a complete word when he suddenly felt something cold breathing down his neck.

_I don't want to die._

Inui's mouth fell open in fright as he felt _something _wet and sticky gripping his arm. He looked at his arm but thanks to his blurry vision he could only see the color red running down the length of his arm.

_Help me… I don't want to die…_

The Seigaku regular's eyes widened even more when in his blurry vision he could barely make out a face coming out from under the bath tub.

Yellowish teeth smiled at him as something bloody red came out to touch his face.

_Help me!_

Inui swallowed and with a great effort he opened his mouth and-

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

-he screamed like his life depended on it.

* * *

"-Yanagisawa-senpai…" Ryoma said before he added uncertainly, "…right?"

"Hm?" Yanagisawa said dazedly as he tilted his head. "You're… the chibi Seigaku regular… Echigoya, dane…"

"It's Echizen." Ryoma tugged his cap in irritation. "What are you doing out here, Yanagisawa-senpai? I thought you were in your room with Nomura-senpai?"

"Doing out where, dane?" Yanagisawa answered his voice a bit slurred. "Who're you again, dane?"

Ryoma's eyebrows furrowed at the strange action of the other. "Senpai, are you okay? You seem drunk."

Yanagisawa didn't answer as he placed a hand on Ryoma's shoulder. Ryoma looked at the other curiously.

"Hey kid…" Yanagisawa said as he leaned forward his eyes shadowed. "You shouldn't be wandering around on your own, dane…"

"You're wandering around by yourself too." Ryoma replied sharply. Looks like his bad habit has come out again.

Yanagisawa ignored what he said as he patted the other on the shoulder. "You know Echigoya…"

"It's Echizen." Ryoma said.

"If you keep going out by yourself like this, you're gonna get targeted by ghosts dane." Yanagisawa said and Ryoma looked at him like he was crazy.

"Ghosts?" Ryoma repeated boredly.

"Don't take my warning lightly…" For one moment, Yanagisawa seemed to be a whole different person.

_What happened to the 'dane' after his sentence? _Ryoma thought as the other looked at him seriously.

The hands on Ryoma's shoulder tightened and unwillingly the other let out a wince.

"O-Oi, that hurts…" Ryoma said through gritted teeth. Hearing what he said, Yanagisawa let go of his shoulders and began to walk forward again. "O-Oi wait!" Ryoma called out to the other and he grabbed the St. Rudolph regular on the shoulder.

_Don't touch me…_

Ryoma's eyes widened as the sudden whisper that passed by his ear. "W-What-?"

However, before Ryoma could finish his sentence-

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

The young prodigy looked up startled and because of his distraction he failed to notice Yanagisawa fall to the floor in another dead faint.

"That voice." Ryoma thought and he frowned seriously. "It couldn't be…"

* * *

"Here it is…" Fuji said referring to the electrical box of the summer house as he opened the closet room it was contained in.

"Good job, senpai!" Momo grinned as he brought forth the tool box. Fuji stepped forward and pointed his flash light at where the fuse was supposed to be. The tensai's eyebrows furrowed in suspicion.

"Wait Momo." Fuji said just as Momo was about to take out another fuse to replace the other one.

"What is it, senpai?" Momo asked and he stood up to look at what Fuji was looking at.

"The fuse seems fine." Fuji said and Momo looked confused.

"Then what caused the black out?" Momo asked and the sharp blue eyes of the Fuji prodigy looked to the side and saw that the switch that activated the electricity was down.

"Here's the problem." Fuji said as he reached out and was about to flip it up when…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Momo and Fuji looked up startled.

"That voice-!" Fuji said as his eyes flew open in all seriousness.

"Senpai, turn on the switch so we can go see what's going on!" Momo said and Fuji nodded quickly before flipping it up.

Brightness blinded the two for a moment before they took the toolbox, closed the door, and sprinted down the hallway to where the scream resounded.

* * *

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Tezuka and Oishi abruptly got up on their seats.

"What was that?" The mother hen of Seigaku asked. Just as he said that, the lights suddenly went on and everyone was blinded by the sudden lights.

"It could either be Inui, Echizen, Yanagisawa…" Mizuki said calculatively. "We should all go and check it out."

Tezuka gave quick and sharp nod. "Eiji you stay here and put out all the candles."

"H-Hai buchou!" Eiji said.

"Everyone else, follow me." Tezuka said as he ran off. The St. Rudolpha and Seigaku nodded to each other before following the great Seigaku captain. Just as they went out, Taka also came out of the kitchen.

"Eiji, did I just hear someone scream?" Taka asked the acrobat.

"Y-Yeah, Oishi and everyone else just went to check it out, nya." Eiji replied and he looked at the door worriedly.

_Please let nothing happen to ochibi, Inui, or Yanagisawa…_

* * *

"Inui! Echizen! Yanagisawa-san!" Oishi called out.

"It's no use… I don't think they can hear us." Akazawa looked around. "This house is just too big."

"Fssshh…" Kaidoh hissed in agreement.

"Maybe we should check the bathrooms first." Nomura suggested.

Yuuta frowned, "But the blueprints are with Inui-san, remember?"

Tezuka puts a hand on his chin before suddenly feeling a small cold breeze, he turned to the windows, but then realized there were no windows since they were currently standing in the middle of the halls.

"Tezuka!"

The captain looked up and saw the worried look of Oishi, he puts a hand on the vice-captain in assurance before nodding, "Let's continue searching."

"R-right."

"Over here!" Kaneda suddenly exclaimed effectively catching everyone's attention. He was pointing at another turn, and without wasting a second, they sprinted to that direction.

Mizuki's eyes narrowed as he saw a silhouette by the ground by a dead-end. And of course, this silhouette was none other than…

"Inui!" Oishi quickened his pace, Tezuka and Kaidoh followed.

The three regulars knelt beside the data man and immediately checked what was wrong.

"What's wrong with him?" Kaidoh asked.

"There doesn't seem to be any injuries though…" Oishi sighed in relief.

"He must've fainted…" Mizuki approached them with his teammates following him behind, "This seems to be happening a lot lately."

"Tezuka!" They all turned around to see who it was. It was Momo and Fuji. The two ran towards the group.

"Aniki!" Yuuta exclaimed.

"What happened here?" Fuji asked his brother.

Momo's eyes widen as he saw Inui, "I-Inui-senpai?"

"He seemed to have fainted." Tezuka said while adjusting his glasses, "We need to get him to his room."

"Hai!"

_Thud!_

Once again they turned around to see where the sudden noise came from and they were shock to see Ryoma on the ground with Yanagisawa. The older teen's arm was found around the small shoulders of Ryoma, so apparently, the young prodigy tried to carry the other.

"Echizen!" Momo and Oishi exclaimed and ran towards the fallen freshman.

Ryoma pushed himself off the ground, an annoyed look was now pasted on his face "Heavy…"

"Are you okay?" Oishi immediately asked while Momo helped carrying Yanagisawa.

"I'm fine." Ryoma sighed before standing up as soon as Momo was able to get the burden off him.

"Saa, we've been looking for you everywhere." Fuji said as he helped Tezuka in carrying Inui.

"Yanagisawa!" Atsushi went to Momo and tried to help the powerhouse player.

"Where'd you find him? Echizen?" Nomura asked.

"I really didn't find him." Ryoma frowned, "He found me."

Mizuki and Yuuta exchanged confused looks.

"Echizen!" Ryoma flinched slightly at the loud tone as Tezuka slowly approached him.

"You left without telling anyone where you were going." The captain looked really upset. "And because of that, this whole mess was created. As punishment you're not allowed to have dinner." Tezuka would've settled with laps but it was already dark outside, and for some reason, he could feel something unwanted out there. But he still needed to punish the freshman to make him learn his lesson.

"Tezuka, isn't that a bit-?" Oishi was interrupted by the look Tezuka gave him.

"Got that, Echizen?"

Ryoma tugged his cap and reluctantly replied "Hai…"

"Good." Tezuka turned to the others who were watching silently, "Let's get going."

They all nodded and went on their way.

Ryoma watched them and frowned "Tch." He was about to follow them when he suddenly saw Inui's limp hand release something. It was a crumpled paper. With a raised eyebrow, the prince took the paper on the ground. _This is…?_

"Echizen!"

"Ah." He immediately pocketed the item and decided to check it out later.

* * *

"Ochibi nya! I was so worried for you!" The acrobat glomped the smaller teen.

"E-Eiji-senpai…"

"Where's Inui?" Taka asked as they watched the others arrived. "And did you guys find Yanagisawa?"

"We sent them to their rooms." Tezuka turned to Ryoma. The freshman got the message and sighed "Hai, hai." Eiji lets go of him and looked at Taka questioningly, who in return just shrugged.

Ryoma tugged his cap, "Gomen… for making you worry."

There were others that tried holding back their laughter, while some just looked at the freshman in pity. Ryoma pulled his cap lower to make sure they wouldn't see the embarrassment.

"Good. Momoshiro, take Echizen to his room."

"Eh? Isn't Echizen gonna stay for dinner?" Taka immediately asked.

"He's not going to have any. It's his punishment…" Fuji explained.

"Poor ochibi nya!"

"…" Ryoma really didn't mind though, now he'll be able to continue reading the book and as well as the… he unconsciously placed a hand in his pocket.

"What about Inui and Yanagisawa nya?" Eiji asked, "What if they start roaming around again?"

"Don't worry. Kisarazu is guarding them." Mizuki said as he remembered awesomely telling Atsushi to guard the two. "We can just deliver their dinner to them later.

"Come on Echizen!" Momo slings his arm around the smaller teen who tried struggling. "Momo-senpai…!"

Everyone just watched as the two left.

"Alright everyone, why don't we start setting the table?"

* * *

"Buchou sure is harsh…" Momo commented as he put both his hands behind his head "Don't worry Echizen, we'll sneak some food for you."

"No thanks. I'm not that hungry anyway."

"Maa, maa, don't be embarrassed! Eiji-sempai and I will find a way to get you some!" Momo patted the other in the back.

Ryoma could only sigh in defeat.

As soon as the two arrived, the young prodigy entered his room and gave his senior a small 'thank you'.

"Don't go roaming around again!" Momo cheerfully said before shutting the door close.

Ryoma stood there for a second. An annoying feeling settled on his guts as he immediately grabbed the door and walked out.

Momo halted his steps and turned around as he heard Ryoma open the door "Oi Echizen-"

"Be careful… Momo-senpai." The powerhouse player was a bit stunned at the serious look the young prince was giving him.

Not sure on how to respond, Momo gave him a nervous laugh "Y-Yeah! Don't worry, I will! I won't faint like Inui-senpai or that Yanagisawa guy." There was a sudden gust of wind making Momo shiver. "Anyway, I should get going now. Jah!"

Ryoma watched him leave until he was out of sight. He was having double thoughts of whether to follow Momo or not. He then decided on just staying in his room as he went back in and shut the door behind him.

He had a feeling that even if he tried following him… _those_ who were lurking around the house would try and get him lost.

All he could do now is just hope that the feeling in his guts was just hunger… and nothing more.

* * *

_Echizen was kinda' acting strange._ Momo thought as he walked down the hallways. _'Maybe I should've stayed with him for awhile. But then again, the others might start eating without me._

_Tack._

He immediately stopped walking as he heard something, "What was that?" he wondered.

_Tack. Tack._

He looked around for the annoying noise "Where is it coming from?" _Don't tell me there are rats here._

His eyes somehow landed at the window beside him. It was really dark outside. He squinted his eyes. He really couldn't see anything. It was pitch black! Was that normal?

_Tack!_

He was shock when the glass shook a bit. So the sound came from there! Was someone throwing stones at the window?

Momo was about to open the window to check, but another gust of wind interrupted him to do so. _Where's this wind coming from?_ He looked at all the other windows, they were closed. So how…?

_Haaa…_

His eyes widen as he heard a soft exhale making him back away and hit the wall. He didn't bother yelping in pain as he hit his head against the wall, instead, he kept his eyes fixed at the window that was slowly fogging up.

He gulped and shivered. Why was it fogging up like that?

Slowly the fog started forming a shape.

And Momo was horrified to realize that it was starting to look like a human face!

"AAAHH!" He immediately ran away in fear.

Suddenly the lights started flickering "No! No! Leave me alone!" He had no idea why he was saying this, all he knew was that someone or probably _something_ was around.

_Be careful…_

Did Ryoma know this was gonna happen? If not, then why did he say those words?

With eyes tightly shut, Momo grabbed the doorknob of a random door and opened it hastily."NOO!"

"Momo!"

"Eh?" He looked up and was surprise to see he was back in the dining room. Everyone was staring at him in a weird way while some stood up in surprise.

"What are you doing? Shouting like that?" Kaidoh grumbled.

"Momoshiro." Tezuka said in warning.

"B-Buchou!" Momo immediately entered and shut the door afraid that the phenomena would reach him. "T-there was-! Lights were flickering! A-and the window! It fogged up into a face!"

"Calm down Momo!" Oishi had approached him held him but the shoulder. "W-we can't understand you."

"What I'm trying to say is… there are ghosts!" Just like that, everything had made sense to Momo. However…

_Hahaha!_

"G-ghosts you say?" Nomura exclaimed as he tried to control his laughter "Aren't you a bit too old to believe in such things?"

"What are you talking about? Well then, explain to me why the window fogged up on my way here and suddenly turned into a face?"

"It must've fogged up because of the wind outside…" Kaneda shrugged.

"And the face must have been your imagination." Yuuta reasoned.

"No it wasn't! I saw it with my own eyes!" Momo pointed at the door "And the lights started flickering!"

"Must be a low voltage…" Mizuki crossed his arms.

"Then what about this cold air I keep feeling? And the windows are shut too-!"

"Momoshiro, enough." Tezuka commands, "Everything's in your head and you're just stressed out at the things that have been happening lately."

Momo clenched his fists and reluctantly shuts his mouth.

"Now, if you don't want to end up like Echizen, help us set the table. It's already past dinner time and we still have to clean the courts tomorrow. Everything will go back to normal as soon as Inui and Yanagisawa wake up." Tezuka assured.

"Hai… Buchou…" and with that the power house player unwillingly approached them to help. Not even noticing the door behind him slowly opening. And as the door pause, a small figure suddenly passed by.

* * *

Ryoma lied down on his bed, and shifted uncomfortably. He looked at the book by his drawer as well as the crumpled paper he still haven't opened.

He didn't feel like opening it for some reason, so he kept his gaze above, trying to distract himself from the paper.

A few minutes later, his hand suddenly grabbed the object and with a sigh, he tries to smooth it out.

oOoOo

"So was there something wrong with the fuse?" Mizuki asked as he took a spoonful of curry, "Or anything else that made the power go out?"

"Well actually… there wasn't really anything wrong with it." Fuji said as remembered their trip to the closet room "The switch was just flipped off. That was all."

"Rats must've played with it or something."

Momo wanted to say that the closet room didn't even have webs or any signs of _any_ living beings at all, but he had a feeling Tezuka might snap at him if he even dare try and mention something related to a supernatural phenomenon.

Fuji frowned as he noticed this too.

Something was wrong with this house.

oOoOo

Ryoma couldn't stop the shivers that kept running down his spine. He narrowed his eyes on the paper before him and hesitantly held it.

"This is…"

In the paper… written in blood was…

_Get well soon mommy!_

_**End of Chapter...**_

* * *

So anyway! We hope it was okay and we hope you would review! Thank you! ^0^


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